Sinner flies into Us Open semifinals: clear victory over Musetti

Those who nurtured the idea of a surprise result, or at least a hard-fought match, were disappointed: on the night of the Italian derby at Flushing Meadows, defending champion Jannik Sinner clearly beat Lorenzo Musetti in three sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, securing the semifinal against Felix Auger Aliassime (who had defeated Alex de Minaur after a four-hour battle). The semifinal will be played on the night between Friday and Saturday, at 1 a.m. Italian time.

It was a one-sided match, with Carrara's talent contracted and unable to crack the wall of power and confidence of the world number one: the first set lasted just 27 minutes, with only two points in reply won by Lorenzo, penalised by an insufficient serve. Then Musetti partly regained his game, and in the second set he managed to break Jannik's pressing, who also conceded a few errors, letting his opponent breathe. But the tension returns to make itself felt in the most delicate moments, when it is necessary to attack and make the breakthrough (an unforgivable forehand into the net by Musetti, at 4-3 in his favour). An impromptu double fault on Sinner's break point on 4-4 draw completely drowned out any hope of putting the match back on an even keel. Ahead two sets to nil, the world number one managed the match, fending off the last attempts of the Carrara player, who also had his chances in the third set and failed to take them (six failed break points).

During the match, referee Greg Allensworth was forced to call the crowd to order on two occasions. "This is no time for a selfie," he said addressing a group of fans. Also present in the incessant buzz at Arthur Ashe stadium were Anna Wintour and actor/director John Turturro, who stepped behind the camera for a few minutes, filling in for a cameraman.

What remains is the excellent tournament played by Musetti, for the first time in the quarter-finals on the cement of the American Slam, while Jannik continues the impressive path he has taken so far, apart from the difficulties with Shapovalov in the third round (to whom he conceded the first set) brilliantly overcome. The last direct clash with Auger-Aliassime was in Cincinnati: it ended 6-0, 6-2 for the Italian. In the other semi-final, Nole Djokovic (winner over Taylor Fritz) will face Carlos Alcaraz (who prevailed against Jiri Lehecka): 9 pm on Friday.

"I was impressed by Jannik," Musetti commented at the end of the match to Supertennis. "He deserved a lot and I wish him well in defending the title. And then, 'he won in all aspects: serve, response, aggressiveness, the way he commanded the exchanges,' he added.